George Clinton bows out of Parliament/Funkadelic. But not before this South Florida show
.jpg "George Clinton, of Parliament/Funkadelic fame, to perform his farewell tour on Aug. 31, 2019 at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale.")
George Clinton has been funkin’ for so long you’d think he’d be spent.
Clinton, the architect who built the fat-bottomed sound of the Parliament/Funkadelic collective’s brand and turned the groups into two of R&B’s most iconic outfits, is on his “very last tour.”
And he’s bringing it to a close at a One Nation Under a Groove Block Party blowout concert at Fort Lauderdale’s Revolution Live on Aug. 31.
Clinton’s hits include late-‘70s staples for Parliament like “Flashlight” and “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)“ and Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain” and “One Nation Under a Groove,” which gives the current tour its name and identity.
Funky fashion
The groups were best known for the funky and infectious tunes, of course, but also for Clinton’s outlandish fashion sense — at Lollapalooza ‘94, 25 years ago at Miami’s Bicentennial Park, Clinton wrapped himself in an Aladdin printed kimono with hair straight out of TV’s “I Dream of Jeannie,” for instance
The music flaunted psychedelic and sci-fi themes, served as a sampling plate for countless hip-hop acts that followed, and the musicians were renowned for big stage shows that drew comparisons to then-label mates and hard rockers, Kiss.
The P-Funk All-Stars that originally orbited around Clinton like Bootsy Collins and the late Bernie Worrell also became prominent for solo excursions in the 1980s.
Parliament-Funkadelic was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
P-Funk today
Today, it’s mostly younger members bringing the P-Funk groove to concert stages, a point that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Clinton.
“I would love to keep on doing this but I’ll be 78 [in July],” Clinton told Rolling Stone in February when he said the end of his leadership was “coming right on time.”
The other musicians will keep Parliament-Funkadelic going after the Revolution gig, Clinton said.
“Even though I feel like I’m just getting started, the reality is the group needs to go ahead and keep it going. We’ve got a new vibe in the band, and they’ve been carrying it for the last three years. I’ve been up there representing for people, but they’ve actually been turning the place out,” he told Rolling Stone.
Fishbone, The Main Squeeze and Miss Velvet & the Blue Wolf open for the “Godfather of Funk.”
If you go
What: One Nation Under a Groove Block Party with George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic
When: Aug. 31, doors open at 5 p.m.
Where: Revolution Live, 100 SW Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale
Tickets: $30 early bird on sale May 14 and $45-$95, on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, May 17
Information: Revolution box office at 954-727-0950 or livenation.com, Ticketmaster and Clinton’s website.
This story was originally published May 11, 2019 at 12:48 PM with the headline "George Clinton bows out of Parliament/Funkadelic. But not before this South Florida show."
